Golden Gaytimes
by HuesoftheMorning
Summary: NozoNico, NozoNicoEli. University AU. Nozomi and Nico eat ice cream and figure out which girls on campus they want to date. Eli gets dragged into it.


"Okay," Nozomi started, licking ice cream off her fingers, "what about that one?"

Nico lifted her head and squinted at the girl walking across the quad. She had a stiff back, head held high and purpose in her strides. Despite the burning August sun, she was wearing a thick turtleneck, and Nico felt herself get hotter just watching the girl.

"Pass," Nico decided.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You can't date anyone with perfect posture like that. They'll make you, like, go to a museum or something."

"Hmmm."

Nico flopped back down on the grass, sprawling out as much as possible. She was pretty sure she was melting. Who allowed it to get this hot? She was going to sue them. Whoever they were. And whenever she felt like moving. Which definitely wasn't any time soon.

"Pass me a sandwich?"

"Sure." Nozomi fished the ice cream sandwich out of their cooler and handed it over. Nico grimaced. The paper wrapping was already soggy. They should have stolen more ice from the store.

"Your turn," Nico said, chomping down on the treat anyway, "girl coming in on the left."

"Oh, she's cute."

This girl was dressed properly for the weather, to the relief of them both. A bit on the chubbier side, with a skirt brushing her knees and pretty floral top. Her glasses kept slipping down her nose, and after a few futile attempts at pushing them up, she sighed and raised a hand to hold them steady.

"What's her major, you think?"

"Archaeology," Nozomi said decisively.

"Hah. As if. Probably, like, botany."

"Do they offer botany here?"

"Hell if I know."

Nozomi was nearing the end of her ice cream cone. She tilted it above her head, catching the last few drops of melted strawberry on her tongue.

"I can't believe you don't eat the cone," Nico said, watching with passive interest. "What a weirdo."

"It all works out in the end though, doesn't it?" Nozomi passed the cone to Nico, who took it with a roll of her eyes. With Nico distracted by the snack, Nozomi took the opportunity to wipe her sticky fingers on the back of Nico's shirt. Movement at the other end of the quad caught her attention.

"Oooo, Nicocchi, I think we just found our winner."

"Huh? Oh, wow."

The girl was drop dead gorgeous, quite frankly. Long legs, blonde hair, glasses that actually stayed on her face – Nozomi and Nico couldn't tear their eyes away. She held a book in one hand - some old classic, no doubt – and she was intently reading as she walked.

"I think I know her, actually," Nico said after a moment. "Aya something? Aya… Ayano? Ayame? Ayako? No, wait, I got it – Ayase."

"Ayase, hmm? Well, if you know her, then you have to be the one to talk to her."

"What? No way! You have ice cream all over your shirt - she's so out of our league. Also, it's too hot to move."

"You're right about that…"

They watched Ayase make her way through the quad. She moved confidently, gracefully, the sun catching her hair and turning it into a shining golden halo. She passed by Nozomi's and Nico's tree, completely oblivious to the pair of awestruck losers beneath it, and proceeded to stumble over her own feet.

Nico burst into laughter. "Real smooth," she called out, "tripping over air!"

Nozomi was giggling beside her, and they both laughed harder as Ayase whipped her head around to glare at them. She shut the book with an angry snap, her cheeks flushed.

"What do you want?" Her voice was sharp, with just a hint of an accent.

"Wanna go on a date?" Nozomi asked, smiling sweetly. Ayase's mouth dropped open, her face growing even pinker. Nico wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or anger, but she didn't really care. It was cute either way.

"Excuse me?" Ayase stormed over to them, fists clenched by her sides. She evaluated Nozomi with a flat look, then turned to Nico. "You. I know you. You were in my music theory class last year, weren't you?"

"That was me!" Nico grinned up at Ayase. God, was she pretty, even furious like this. Especially furious like this. "I'm surprised you noticed me, with you sitting in the front row like a good student and me all the way in back. But I guess I shouldn't be _too_ surprised. It's hard not to notice such amazing and wonderful talent like mine-"

"You threw a paper airplane at the back of my head on the first day of class."

Nico jolted into a sitting position. "That was an accident!"

Nozomi was practically in tears, she was laughing so hard. Nico's attempt to shove her failed, as it usually did.

Ayase was not amused in the slightest. "How do you accidentally throw a paper airplane?"

"I didn't accidentally _throw_ it, I accidentally threw it at _you_. I was trying to hit that annoying redhead sitting next to you."

"Why?"

"Cause she skipped, like, two years of school and that's just so smart it's annoying."

"That is the worst reason I have ever heard-"

"Now, now," Nozomi said, stifling her giggles and patting the grass beside her. "It's too hot to be arguing. Come sit down and eat ice cream with us."

Ayase looked at her with a tight frown, then at the cooler filled with all sorts of semi-frozen treats.

"Fine," she grumbled, sinking to the ground and fishing out a chocolate popsicle. "Where did you get all of these, anyways?"

"The dining hall," Nozomi said.

"And they just let you take this many?"

"Nope!"

Ayase looked suspiciously between the two smiling girls, but stayed quiet. Her anger seemed to be melting away with her ice cream, which she ate neatly and daintily. Not a single drop fell on her. A goddess, Nozomi and Nico silently agreed.

"This is actually the third time we've been kicked out of the dining hall this year," Nico said, as if she was a little kid bragging about her adventures to a crush. "Last week we got kicked out because we tried to spend the entire day inside so we didn't have to pay for all three meals. We almost made it till dinner before we got caught."

"The time before that," Nozomi said, "we used the pizza trays as Frisbees. We got the whole dining hall involved. Some guy got hit in the face and lost a tooth."

"How have you two not been expelled?"

"We're needed to offset the grading curve," Nico answered, with zero shame. She and Nozomi had decided early on: cute girls first, studying second. Speaking of which: "So. That date?"

"No. And I wasn't I supposed to date you?" Ayase turned to Nozomi, who nodded and grinned.

"You can date both of us."

"What? Why? Is this one of those weird things were twins want to date the some person?"

"We're not twins, we're just gay."

"Yeah, Nozomi and I are already dating. We're trying to expand though. The more the merrier, right?"

"No," Ayase answered again, instantly and firmly. "I refuse to get pulled into whatever weird things you two are doing."

"Aw, come on. You're not interested in pizza Frisbee?"

"Ayase's too cultured for pizza Frisbee, Nicocchi. We need something more upscale. Like pizza poetry readings."

"Please don't," Ayase said. "And it's Eli."

"It's nice to meet you, Eli! I'm Nozomi!" Nozomi stuck out her hand for Eli to shake, remembered the ice cream she'd licked off earlier, and thought better of it.

"So, Nozomi," Nico started, eyes narrowed in thought. "This pizza poetry slam. You thinking poems about pizza, or throwing pizza on stage instead of roses?"

"Hmm. Do they even throw roses for the reciters?"

"We could get other people to throw roses. Or we throw roses for the first few, and then start throwing pizzas afterward."

"You already did pizza frisbee," Eli said, "you can't do pizza themed pranks twice."

Nozomi and Nico turned to look at Eli, Nozomi nodding thoughtfully and Nico with a Cheshire grin. Eli seemed to realize what she'd said a moment too late, eyes growing wide in horror.

"W-wait, forget that, I didn't mean to say anything, I don't care about your weird pranks- actually, I should be stopping you, don't throw things at hardworking performers, that's mean-"

Nico slung an arm around Eli's shoulders. "Too late, Ayase. You're one of us now. There's no going back."

Eli buried her face in her hands and groaned. Nozomi and Nico shared looks of triumph.

"Welcome to the group."


End file.
